Referring a Case - Key Points

  • Please fill in every part of the referral form. All of the information is required by the Senate Assessors so that they can judge the impact of their decision as far as possible, and it saves time if the Student Conduct Team do not need to email Schools for clarification. In particular, ensure you complete the ‘details of allegation’ section and give as much detail as possible.
  • All cases must have evidence supplied – either marked up work with identified sources, correspondence with the student, screenshots, etc. Cases without evidence will be returned to Schools and no action can be taken.
  • If you are referring an online exam case relating to multiple questions, please do not submit a separate referral for each question. One referral per exam will suffice.
  • If you are unsure whether plagiarism is substantial enough to refer, please email the Turnitin report/marked up work to student-conduct@glasgow.ac.uk for an initial view.
  • Referrals should be made as soon as possible after the work is submitted – the Student Conduct Team regularly receives referrals some months after the work was submitted, which causes distress to the students involved and may delay their graduation.
  • If the allegation is one where there is the suspicion that the student has not written the work by themselves (e.g. contract cheating, use of artificial intelligence) and so no sources can be identified, we recommend a viva takes place with the student. Contact the Student Conduct Team if more advice is required. Advise students why the viva is happening, and take notes. If after the viva the School remains unconvinced that the student produced the work, refer the case, with the viva notes, to the Student Conduct Team.  The School should not make any final judgement or apply a penalty. 

When referring a case to us, you should advise the student you are making the referral and explain what the allegation is about.  You should not provide them with the documentation at this stage – the Student Conduct Team will do this.  You should also not suggest to the student what the outcome might be, as this can’t be predicted.  Any queries about any aspect of the conduct process – either from staff or students - can be emailed to student-conduct@glasgow.ac.uk.